Self stretching or shaping shoe.



.No. 872,615. PATENTEID 1330.3, 1907.

I E. A. EASTMAN.

SELF STRETOHING 0R SHAPING SHOE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 15, 1906.

W W/64 v THE NORRIS PETERS 5a.. WASHINGTON. n. c

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERNEST A. EASTMAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO WILLIAMH. CRAWFORD, OF DAYTON, OHIO.

SELF STRETCHING OR SHAPING SHOE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 3, 1907.

A lication filed November 15, 1906. Serial No. 343.575.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST A. EASTMAN,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county ofCook and State of Illinois, have invented an Improvement in SelfStretching or Shaping Shoes, of which the following description, inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, likeletters on the drawings representing like parts. I

A common experience is to find the upper of ones shoes wrinkled over theball, and the sole bent upwardly at the toe, especially if the shoe hasnot been worn for some time, said wrinkling and bending causingconsiderable injury to the leather and appearance of the shoe and to itsintegrity, as the repeated wrinkling or warping and subsequentstraightening out and stretching of the shoe to correct shape opens theseams and stitches and tends to disturb the more or less intricateportions of the shoe adjacent the sole, and tends to otherwise injurethe shoe in the course of time. To prevent this, it is a com- .monpractice to insert shoe forms or trees in shoes when removed at night,thereby maintaining the shoes in properly distended position the same aswhen on the foot, but the provision and insertion of shoe forms or treesis troublesome and expensive. Accordingly my invention aims to make theshoe selfstretching as I have termed it, by which I mean that theportion which has heretofore wrinkled and curled as the shoe has becomedry when out of use, will not wrinkle or curl but will invariablymaintain its distended shape the sameas if the shoe tree or the footwere in it all the time. I accomplish these results by providing betweenthe welt and outersole a stiffener, preferably in the form of a metalplate which is incapable of bending under the shrinking strain of thedrying leather of the shoe, and therefore prevents the shoe wrinklingand bending or curling up when not on the foot.

The constructional details and further features of my invention will bepointed out in the course of the following description, reference beinghad to the accompanying draw ings in which I have shown certainpreferred embodiments of the invention.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a view in side elevation partly brokenaway, of a shoe embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a transverse sectionalview thereof; Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the toe-part of the shoewith the sole removed; Fig. 4 is a view of a shoe in side elevationshowing the evil which my invention corrects; Fig. 5 is a transversesectional view showing a modified construction Fig. 6 is a plan viewsimilar to Fig. 3 showing said modified construction.

As the Goodyear shoe construction is well known, it will be unnecessaryfor me toexplain the same in detail, and accordingly it will beunderstood that the upper 1, sole 2, welt 3, innersole 4 and fillermaterial 5 may be of any usual or preferred kind. The tendency of ashoe, as usually constructed, to wrinkle above the ball is clearlyindicated at 6 Fig. 4, the sole gradually bending upward metal plate 9of steel or other material suifi ciently stiff to maintain the shoestraight when off the foot, without, however, interfering materiallywith ease in walking. This plate 9 is shaped accurately so as to fit onthe inner edge 10 of the welt 3 just within the sewing line 11, and itextends preferably back approximately to the ball 12 of the shoe. Byreason of the provision of this stiffener 9 the shoe forward of the ballis maintained normally in a perfectly fiat condition, the result beingthat the top part of vamp is kept stretched out without wrinkles exactlythe same as if it contained a shoe tree.

In Figs. 5 and 6 I have shown a modified construction, in which, insteadof having a fiat plate 9 extending substantially the entire width of theinnersole, I have provided a U-shaped metal piece as the stiffeningmeans comprising a flat lateral part 13 and a de pending flange 14adapted to rest flat against the stitch-receiving rib 15 of theinnersole as shown clearly in Fig. 5. This form of stiffener may be madeas a substantially straight strip provided with slits 16 'at suitableintervals, so that when it is to be fitted to a shoe bottom it is simplycurved around as shown in Fig. 6, the slits gapping and permitting themetal to bend sufficiently to conform to the general shape of theinnersole cavity. I prefer to employ metal, as it is advantageous fromthe point of economy and facility of application, although I do notintend to restrict myself to metal, as other stiff or strongly flexiblematerials may be employed. Nor do I intend to restrict myself to the twospecies of my invention herein presented, as the invention is capable ofmany embodiments.

While I have shown my invention in connection with Goodyear shoes, itmay be used with McKay shoes and especially with welt McKays, theessential feature of my invention, broadly considered, being theapplication of a stiffener at or adjacent the sole, so secured andlocated that it maintains the forward portion of the shoe taut when notin use, said stiffener preferably being clamped or otherwise secureddirectly against the sole, i. a. laid in rigid relation to that part ofthe shoe which constitutes or is supported by the tread member of theshoe.

Having described my invention, what I' claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. A shoe, comprising an upper, a sole secured thereto, and internalstiffening means for preventing the sole from bending or curling up whenthe shoe is off the foot and for the shoe next to the sole locatedentirely formaintaining the upper smooth and without wrinkles,consisting of a rigid plate within ward of the ball of the shoe andfastened immovably to the sole.

' 2. A shoe, comprising an upper, a welt, and a sole, combined with astiffener clamped between said welt and sole forward of the ball oftheshoe.

3. A shoe, comprising an upper, a welt, and a sole, combined with astiflener clamped between said welt and sole at the inner edge of thewelt forward of the ball of the shoe.

4. A shoe, comprising an upper, innersole, welt, and sole all securedtogether, and a stiffener engaged at its peripheral edge by theinnersole and welt on its upper side and bythe sole on its under sidefor maintaining the shoe in normally taut condition when not in use.

5. A shoe, comprising an upper, welt, and sole, and a stiffener platelocated forward of the ball of the shoe and spanning the width of theshoe at the inner edges of the welt, said plate being clamped betweenthe sole and welt adjacent the sewing line thereof.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ERNEST A. EASTMAN. Witnesses GEO. H. MAXWELL, M. J. SPALDING.

